Church installs 1st transgender bishop

SAN FRANCISCO >> The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America installed its first openly transgender bishop in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.

The Rev. Megan Rohrer will lead one of the church’s 65 synods, overseeing nearly 200 congregations in Northern California and northern Nevada.

Rohrer was elected in May to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod after its current bishop announced his retirement.

“I step into this role because a diverse community of Lutherans in Northern California and Nevada prayerfully and thoughtfully voted to do a historic thing,” Rohrer said in a statement. “My installation will celebrate all that is possible when we trust God to shepherd us forward.”

Rohrer, who uses the pronoun “they,” previously served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and a chaplain coordinator for the city’s police department, Rohrer is married and has two children.